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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216631">Makoto Niijima Week Day 1: Black and White/Law</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakebroe/pseuds/Jakebroe'>Jakebroe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Makoto Niijima Week</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:42:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216631</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakebroe/pseuds/Jakebroe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since she became the commissioner for the Tokyo police department, Makoto wanted to help reform the police, but recent events involving the officers in the department made her worry that she had failed. That's when a certain legislator calls to reassure her that her work will not be for nothing and she doesn't need to do it alone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Makoto Niijima Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Makoto Niijima Week Day 1: Black and White/Law</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“It’s getting late,” she thought, as the night grew darker and more people started to leave. Such was the life of Makoto Niijima. The Tokyo police commissioner had a lot of work to do and no time to do it. Lately, there had been reports of her officers abusing their power, harassing the people, and borderline assaulting them. She was pissed off; this was the very thing she wanted to rid the force of, yet she felt like she had somehow failed. As she read through the reports, she became even more enraged. There were the names of officers she had known since they were in the academy,  names she thought she could trust, and now she not only felt angry, but betrayed. She slammed the file down and held her head in her hands, on the verge of tears. That’s when Ren called. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, honey,” he said. “Are you doing alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know anymore,” she replied, shaking her head. “I thought I was doing the right things, hiring the right people, but I guess I failed somewhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mako,” he said, “you didn’t fail. It’s the system that’s failed the people. That’s why we’re working to change it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Makoto shook her head, “Yeah, but what if we’re wrong? I thought I did everything, but what if I’ve been doing all the wrong things?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ren sighed, “You’ve been doing all the right things. Those reports are proof that the system has an issue that needs to be changed. You haven’t done anything wrong here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Makoto sat up and put her fingers at the bridge of her nose. “How’s that bill coming along?” she asked. She and Ren had drafted a bill that would work to eliminate corruption in the police, similar to one that Ren had successfully passed regarding politicians, a few months ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going pretty well,” Ren replied. “I’ve convinced a few more people, but I still need more to get on board for it to make it to the floor for a vote.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Makoto shook her head. “Maybe it’s time to give up,” she said, defeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way,” Ren interjected. “We’ve put too much work into this to just give up. This was your dream from the start, and I’m not going to let you give up on it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Makoto started to breathe heavily. “But, I’ve already been getting letters and emails calling for my resignation,” she said, about to cry. “I’ve failed to fulfill my promise. But more importantly, I’ve failed the very people I swore to protect and defend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Makoto,” Ren said, authoritatively, “You haven’t failed. We’re just starting. Those people don’t know you the way I do, or how your coworkers do, for that matter. We know that you were sincere when you made that promise to eliminate police corruption, and the fact that you’re worried that you’ve failed is further proof of that. You haven’t failed anyone.” Ren paused to think. Through the silence, he could hear her breathing heavily. “Honey, calm down,” he said, his voice shifting from that of a representative to that of a concerned husband. “I’ll work with you to write a speech to the people of Tokyo, addressing the events that have happened and how we plan to prevent it from happening again.” Makoto started to calm down a bit. “I’m almost done with my own address about the same thing to the other representatives,” Ren continued. “You and I will work to remove those officers from the force and prevent others like them from being able to enter. I promise. And I never break a promise, especially not to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Makoto took a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you, Ren,” she said. “That would be great to work on that speech.” She sat up in her chair then caught her breath. “Please promise me that you will continue to work on that bill,” she said. “We need it to pass, so I can work on getting these dirty cops out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a promise,” he said. “I’ll work on it, even if it’s what I do for the rest of my career.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. I’ll see you at home,” she said, pulling the files back in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds good,” Ren replied. “I love you, Miss Commissioner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She could sense the teasing in his voice and smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Representative,” she said, teasing back. “I love you, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hung up the phone and started to read the files in front of her. The amount of corroborators for each report was astonishing. When she started to feel overwhelmed, she looked up at the picture frame on her desk. The photo in it was taken on the day she was sworn in as the commissioner. She stood there, in her uniform, with her arm around the leader of the National Diet, who just so happened to be her husband. The two stood tall and proud with a smile on their faces. It was the perfect representation of their relationship; two high ranking societal figures working together to fix the injustices in society while also supporting each other not only through their professional lives, but their personal lives as well. They had always been able to confide in and rely on each other, and this was no different from those other times. The only thing they could do now is put their heads down and work to institute change for the better of the people.</span>
</p>
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